"Self" and "Privacy" needs of an almost 2 Year Old

Dear Hannah,
I can't believe that in 2 days, you will be 2 years old! Right now, you are wanting to do everything by your "self." I remember disliking this stage when Nathan went through it, but this time around, I know better and I just give ourselves a bit more time to do everything because in the end, it'll just be quicker to let you do things yourself. Soon, the novelty will pass and you will be throwing tantrums because I'm asking you to buckle yourself in.

Another thing that you've picked up from Nathan is asking for "privacy" when using the potty. At first, I had no idea what you were talking about. "Bessy" is what you would say while you were sitting on the potty one day. As you pointed your hand to the door and swiped it across, I realized that you were mimicing Nathan's request for privacy earlier. So now, it's become a thing.

I was gone for another training last week, so I skipped an entry. Everytime I come home after being gone for a week, it seems like your vocabulary just multiplies twofold each time. It's amazing how much you are picking up. The things you say like "over there" or "oh no, it's stuck." or "broken" are really cute.

Well, here's a recap off the past two weeks. Before I left for my trip, we attended one of our neighbor friend's birthday party. In a sea of boys, you were able to hang pretty well with the group. Running and playing super heroes; driving cars off of cliffs;

 and eating birthday cake just as well as the big kids.

 Your favorite food right now must be watermellon. You are pretty good at saying it in chinese and you point it out everytime you see it. In fact you point and jump up and down exclaiming "Xi gua, Xi gua!"

 Your big brother, Nathan likes it too, but not as much as making silly faces in front of the camera!

 You like to eat watermelon slices (big pieces) as well as cut the watermelon into bite size pieces by your "self" .


On Saturday, grandma and grandpa came to visit. On Sunday, we went to the Bob Bullock museum where they had a special kid event going on. It was pretty fun.

 While I was a away, Grandma said that you guys were pretty good. We finished up our last week of swim lessons and on the last day, tried Hannah again with Coach Rachel. Let's just say, Nathan ended up completing the lesson. A few times you have randomly said, "Rachel, coo- coo" which means "cry" in chinese. Not sure what you have against that sweet lady, but you are simply terrified of her.

We are not going to have a big party like we did when you turned one. We are simply doing a small family celebration, and don't worry, sprinkles will be involved.

Dear Nathan,
You've been a pretty good big brother lately, although there are moments where I can tell that you are purposely trying to get under Hannah's skin. I guess this is pretty normal, because I remember doing that to your Auntie Momo, but I never realized just how annoying that was. When I returned back from Houston, I brought back some crazy fruits that I thought you guys might want to try. You were hesitant at first, but after seeing Hannah taste the foods with excitement, you decided to try them and you actually ended up liking the rambutan. Jackfruit is another story, and lichi is still in the air, however, you decided to plant a lichi seed with daddy.

 I've noticed that you guys are able to play together more often. Hannah really does look up to you and wants to mimic you in whatever you do. She doesn't trust you completely, as she is very cautious around you, but I'm sure it'll change as she gets older and physically stronger.

 You watched Cars 2 for the first time this week and you enjoyed it. You think that the first Cars movie is a bit better than the second one, but you still enjoyed the second one.

We've introduced another game "Labrynth" which is a game that you've picked up pretty quickly.

This week, we got a shelf for behind the couch and I was working on painting it in the garage. You were not allowed to use the adult paint, but you were allowed to paint your own shelf that we made together out of popsicle sticks. You are pretty proud of the final product as you colored in everything yourself. 

It's been raining the past 4 days so we've been indoors for the most part. During the rain breaks, we sometimes go out to look for puddles to splash in. It's a lot of fun and you guys don't complain about the walking at all. Texas is so nice when it's not 100 degrees outside. We'll take it for now, even if it comes with buckets and buckets of rain. 

Until next week, 

Love, 

Mommy